Trump is cracking up. He’s facing 82 indictments across five cases, three criminal and two civil, and has taken to his Truth Social platform to attack just about everybody connected with the 6 Jan ‘insurrection’ case including the judge, prosecutor, jurors, witnesses, the former vice president and now even the American women’s football team for getting knocked out of the World Cup. He is in deep, deep trouble and is only making things worse.
One of his Republican opponents Kyle Cheney, daughter of another former VP, Dick Cheney, tweeted on Friday:
Donald Trump swore in court yesterday he would not attempt to influence or intimidate witnesses, retaliate against anyone, or in any other way attempt to obstruct the administration of justice.“Are you prepared to comply?” the magistrate judge asked.“Yes,” Trump replied. pic.twitter.com/UWxcz0nZ1d— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 4, 2023
He told the judge, Tanya Chutkan, on Thursday that he wouldn't try to influence or intimidate witnesses only to begin a rant-o-thon on Friday that has continued all weekend.
This is just one example in which Trump claims he can't get a fair trial:
🚨🚨🚨MAJOR BREAKING: Just HOURS after Judge Chutkan ordered Trump to respond to why she shouldn’t grant Jack Smith’s protective order against him……Trump took to Truth Social and DIRECTLY attacked the judge in an all-caps post.There’s a very real possibility Trump could… pic.twitter.com/lY0Nb0E35f— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) August 6, 2023
Special prosecutor Jack Smith has applied to Chutkan for a ‘protective’ order to stop Trump from broadcasting crucial information that the prosecution (in a process known as 'discovery') is obliged to provide to his defence team about the evidence they have gathered.
His lawyers are due in court at 4pm EST today (9pm BST) to argue against it but this was arranged last week before he launched these crazy rants and it’s quite possible the judge will issue some sort of gagging order - or even jail him for a few days. We’ll see.
However, this is far from the worst. Listen to this:
Everyone needs to hear this,there was a web sight called the Donald just before the 1/6 attack and it’s resurfaced over the last 3 days,it’s calling for the deaths of Jack Smith and the grand jurors. pic.twitter.com/bE5xRzOLuh
— Dobie lover. 💙🌊Let’s finish the job. Biden 2024 (@GallihughDeb) August 5, 2023
We all know what his supporters are capable of - the episode at the Capitol building on 6 January 2020 showed that - and calling for not just the prosecutor but also the 16 members of the grand jury, ordinary men and women doing their civic duty, to be killed is really terrifying even by American standards.
This morning, I note on Twitter he has apparently retweeted something about his supporters getting into a "civil war frame of mind" if he's convicted:
WTF? Donald Trump just reposted a tweet that said if Trump is convicted, his supporters will be in a “civil war frame of mind.” Trump is trying to rile up his base. He should be dragged back to DC and thrown in jail for violating his release conditions NOW. It’s unacceptable.
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) August 7, 2023
He’s a bigger threat to the USA than Osama Bin Laden.
In the polls, Trump and Biden are neck and neck - with the president having a slight lead in most polls, something that I think most people in the world will find amazing. The mass of evidence, written and on tape and film, quite apart from sworn testimony by literally hundreds of witnesses (with plenty more to come), points to his guilt in all cases and he will surely end up in prison, one way or the other.
The Republican party is scared of him and I think many leading figures, although publicly supportive, will welcome Trump being jailed. I you don't believe me, have a listen to this:
Something rather stunning occurred during the course of this August 3rd edition of “The Breakdown” with Rick Wilson @TheRickWilson and Tara Setmayer @TaraSetmayerA very, VERY senior member of the Trump administration — whom Rick Wilson agreed not to identify — sent a message… pic.twitter.com/T6RBrspHNy— Stephanie Kennedy (@WordswithSteph) August 6, 2023
During the podcast apparently (34:12 secs in), somebody identified as "A very, VERY senior member of the Trump administration" sent a message directly to one of the hosts which said: “I regret serving in his administration more than anything I’ve ever done in my life. Keep going. You’re patriots. Don’t quit” (excuse the profanities).
The host, Richard Wilson said: "And if you knew who that was, your f*****g eyes would pop out."
Think about that. Some people were right at the centre of events running up to the 2021 inauguration who sat next to Trump and know what a nutjob he is and what a danger he is to the US, democracy, and even world peace - but refuse to speak out.
That tells me a lot about the grip Trump has on millions of Americans.
I am not one for conspiracy theories but I genuinely think the divisions in the US and here are at least partly due to the efforts of Vladimir Putin and hundreds of Russian government employees who sow mistrust of government and between political opponents through planned campaigns on social media.
There is a stack of evidence from the Mueller inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. It didn't accuse Trump (POTUS at the time of course) of wrongdoing but the report clearly states that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was illegal and occurred "in sweeping and systematic fashion." That was the result of deliberate actions by the Russian state.
The political differences between us are often minuscule in reality - certainly in America - but have now blown up to a point in the USA where people are actually talking about civil war.
It's crazy and worrying.
